1. Field of Invention.
The invention relates to vacuum erection devices for erectile dysfunction treatment and augmenting male potency, particularly to devices and methods for transferring penile constrictors.
2. Description of Prior Art.
Vacuum erection therapy is recognized by National Institute of Health as the first line remedy, preferable to other treatments of erection dysfunction-sex therapy, self injections, venous and arterial surgery, implantation of a penile prosthesis. It provides firm erection in the shortest time, without need of sexual arousal and faster than pills like Viagra, which could take another hour to work. It has a much higher success rate than pills, is safe, and it has no serious side effects.
Presently manufactured vacuum constriction devices comprise a vacuum chamber with an open end serving as an entrance, a closed end connected to a vacuum pump through a hose, and constriction rings placed on the vacuum chamber close to its open end. To achieve an erection the penis is inserted into the open end of the vacuum chamber, which is pressed to abdomen to provide an airtight seal. Then the vacuum is generated in the chamber with the manually or electrically operated vacuum pump. The partial vacuum inside the chamber causes blood flow into the penis, thus producing an erection. To sustain the erection, the constriction ring preinstalled on the vacuum chamber is forced to slip off onto the root of the penis. Being placed on the root of the penis, the constriction ring inhibits the blood flow from the penis thus sustaining erection. After this, the vacuum is released, and the chamber is removed from the erect penis.
Commercially available vacuum erection systems still have a number of drawbacks.
By now about 1.5 million of vacuum erection devices have been sold. Tens of thousands are being manufactured every year. To improve efficacy of devices--already sold and new ones--a new design concepts has to be implemented for improvements of the systems and elimination of their drawbacks.
Among drawbacks of available vacuum erection systems, the most often mentioned are: cumbersomeness, technical difficulties, painfulness, and lack of concealment. These drawbacks do not stem from vacuum erection concept. The concept is excellent as it allows the user to bypass numerous natural obstacles on a complicated way from initial desire to fill erection.
The drawbacks are resulting from design features of particular systems, assemblies and parts which form the system.
The goal of this invention is an improvement in a very important function of a vacuum erection system--transferring of a penile constrictor from the vacuum chamber onto the root of erect penis.
Quick and reliable dislodging of the constrictor is extremely important for successful vacuum erection treatment. The shortest delay between initial move of constrictor and complete constriction can cause penetration of air into the chamber and make erection weaker.
The user's guides for available vacuum erection devices instruct to push the constrictor ring with the finger towards the edge of the vacuum chamber to force it to slip. It is not always easy.
Men whose pubic tissue is not firm because of obesity or some other causes are often encountering problem of sucking soft pubic tissue into the chamber and covering proximal end of the chamber by overhanging abdomen and pubic tissue insomuch as 3-4 cm. Getting with the finger to the constrictor in this situation could be difficult and painful, a vacuum could be broken and erection lost.
A majority of users have to load two or more constrictor rings to provide pressure sufficient to hinder blood flow from the penis.
It is more difficult to transfer two or more rings instantly so that firmness is not lost during transfer--when the first ring constricts the base of the penis, air tightness can be damaged.
Different approaches for solving transfer problems are known in a prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,227 "Erection Device and Method" of Jun. 28, 1988 to Rudolph Yanuck discloses a sleeve 46 which is axially slidable along the vacuum chamber for forcing constrictor to slip off
This force is very substantial. During loading, the constrictor with the diameter of opening about 2 cm has to be extended to diameter about 7 cm (the outside diameter of the chamber). This is so difficult that many users cannot do it without special applicator. The inward radial pressure of the constrictor is very difficult to overcome by applying longitudinally directed force, especially if the user has to load two or more constriction rings.
The transferring device of this invention is an integral part of the system. It is not retrofittable by the users into another systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,800 "Apparatus for Achieving and Maintaining Penis Erection" of May 26, 1992 to Matejevic et al. discloses a transferring assembly with a double lever which pushes the bushing with its two projections. The bushing has a head which pushes the constrictor until it slips from the tube onto the base of the penis.
The system is mechanically complicated and it is not retrofittable by the users into existing systems.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,890 "Vacuum-Constriction Erection and Device" of Jun. 30, 1992 to Merrill et al. dislodging is performed by a flexible strap, adhesively attached to a rubber diaphragm near the open end of the vacuum chamber. During an upward movement of the strap it pushes the constrictor placed over tubular segment of the diaphragm towards the edge of the chamber and pulls the plug which releases the vacuum.
Drawbacks of this approach stem from the requirement of a very strong grip of the diaphragm to the chamber--it has to withstand shifting force of at least two dislodging constrictors. Placement of the diaphragm with such strong grip requires special tooling and skill, hardly available to users. The pivoting point (axe) of the strap can be provided only at the certain distance from the edge to make space for adhesive. Because of this, the constrictor cannot be brought beyond the chamber's edge by the upward movement of the strap during transfer. Besides, dislodging force is quite substantial, which makes adhesive attachment vulnerable to tearing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,943 "Male Organ Restrictor Ring Applicator" of Mar. 23, 1993 to John Chaney discloses a sleeve contiguous with the constrictor. The sleeve is provided with a camming surface that reacts against a fixed cam element on the cylinder. When the sleeve is rotated, it is cammed axially towards the end of the cylinder and forces the constrictor to slip off. The drawbacks of this approach are following:.
1. Twisting motions for rotating the sleeve causes rocking of the chamber at the base of the penis which may affect air tightness and make erection weak. 2. The system is mechanically complicated and not retrofittable into existing devices by the users. PA1 1. Two embodiments of an internal transferring device: PA1 2. External transferring device, placed over the vacuum chamber and designated for vacuum erection systems with internal penile seal, proposed in patent application Ser. No. 09/543,274 of Apr. 4, 2000 of Y. Altshuler.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,563 "Apparatus for Obtaining an Artificial Erection" of May 25, 1993 to Allan Cox discloses a transfer ring, sidably installed on a cylindrical vacuum chamber and serving for forcing the constrictor to slip off by applying the force in the axial direction.
Difficulties of this approach were discussed above (R. Yanuck).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,470 "Penile Tube and Constrictor Ring Removal Guide System " of Dec. 7, 1999 to Frank Coates discloses a transferring device for a cylindrical vacuum chamber in two embodiments: one with the sleeve having axial movement and one with the sleeve having threaded rotational motion. The device with axial motion is not effective, especially when two or more constrictors have to be dislodged simultaneously.
The device with the threaded sleeve is mechanically complicated. Both embodiments are integrated with specific systems and are not suitable for retrofitting into existing devices by individual users.
Discussed prior art does not show simple and effective solutions for transferring devices. It does not show a transferring device with rigid mounting tube and a pulling loop easily attachable to existing vacuum chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,635 "Erection Control System" of Mar. 14, 2000 to Yakov Altshuler discloses transferring device insertable into a vacuum chamber for simultaneous dislodging of a penile seal and a constriction device loaded over the outside surface of the vacuum chamber.
Patent application Ser. No. 09/210,463, Notice of Allowance of Mar. 13, 2000 to Yakov Altshuler "Adjustable Penile Constrictor" discloses a mounting tube for penile rigidity device for sustaining naturally obtained erection (i.e. without the use of a vacuum erection device).
The goal of this invention is to provide simple and reliable transferring devices for existing vacuum chambers with abdominal seal and for chambers with retrofittable penile seals, recited in a patent application Ser. No. 09/543,274 of Yakov Altshuler, filed Apr. 5, 2000. The use of the devices should be simple and intuitive. The devices should be retrofittable, so that the users who bought vacuum erection devices years ago would be able to install new transferring devices and successfully use them without special tools or help from outside.